Tuesday, 20 October 2015

1976: A TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE'S ANGELS POSTER MAGAZINE Issue 1

From 1976 (or thereabouts): the first issue of the A TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE'S ANGELS POSTER (or, err, "posta") MAGAZINE, featuring the first season cast of Farrah, Kate and Jaclyn.

I found this recently in a second handstore and it was too good to pass up. Its obviously British (or a British edition) and, judging from the title and the lack of publisher information, an unlicensed take-a-chance cash-in.

There's no publication date but it features the original 76-77 line-up before, famously, Farrah walked away at the height of her fame. The US TV Movie THE CHARLIE'S ANGELS STORY is a fun, but probably not entirely accurate, dramatic reconstruction of the show's rollercoaster origin and turbulant first season.

There's something charming about revisiting this and Spelling's other primetime crime shows like TJ HOOKER and MATT HOUSTON, not least because they frequently seemed to share the same plots, just tailored for the formats of the individual series. The legendary Angels in Chains (the prisonepisode that made the show a sensation) is not a million miles from the HOUSTON episode Caged, which gave Star Age icon Pamala Hensley a chance to shine when she found herself banged up in a similar establishment which also happened to be operating a prostitution business on the side. Such things must have been endemic in the US correctional system.

Ooo. I missed the TRANCERS book (doh!) but did grab BTTF. Jack Deth lives! I saw the very odd TRANCERS 6 for the first time recently. It's poor stuff but still manages to be better than the two instalments shot in Eastern Europe.

There was no sign of the MOTU book in London. I assume it simply missed this week's shipping date and will appear next week or in the near future.

The FAQ book people have added a STAR WARS edition to the range. It's jolly good and really only looks at the original trilogy and sundry spin-off (EWOKS, DROIDS, HOLIDAY SPECIAL etc) rather than the more ropy prequels. The FAQ books are usually worth a look if you are interested in the subject. Oddly, they DON'T follow a question/ answer format.

The new WHO part-work volume covers the origin of the series and looks to be very interesting.

The next Panini WHO SPECIAL will be devoted to Davros. Is there really that much to say?

I think there is, especially in light of his recent re-appearance in the show. He's always been a great character and villain. Personally I would love to see a comic crossover where he meets palpatine from star wars but its highly unlikely this will ever happen.

the trancers comic has nice art but as with so many titles these days, an over abundance of graphic violence.

Also, I don't know if you have read the latest issue of STARBURST ( 418 ) but there was a right old ding-dong in the letters page. apparently , some dr who fan took issue with Paul Mount's critique of the show and the editor dashed off a furious riposte. Mount as you may recall used to write the tv zone column back in the 80's heyday of the mag when the letters would run to 4 or 5 pages. You may also remember an on going feud between John Brosnan and the horror writer James Herbert which ran for years in SB.

I did read it. It wasn't pleasent. I think the letter writer was clearly far too close to the subject to have an objective orcreasoned view but I don't think it's the place of a magazine to launch such a robust and vitrioic defense in print. It seemed unnecessary.

SLOW ROBOT

Welcome to STARLOGGED!
It's a repository, and celebration, of Geek Media (mostly print) from the 'Star Age': that pre-millennial period between, roughly, 1972 (the opening of Marvel UK) and 1999 (the release of The Phantom Menace... and the end of innocence). But, of course, we'll bend the rules when we want to.
I only reproduce long out-of-print items for historical reference. I don't include anything that's currently in-print, is likely to be reprinted or otherwise commercially exploited by the copyright holder.
Comments and contributions are most welcome.